Arrests expected in Parkway Academy school bus assault

An apparent attack on a student attending an alternative school that was posted on Facebook has led to an investigation by Dover Police.

Jeff Brownjeff.brown@doverpost.com@DoPoJeff

Detectives with the Dover Police Department will be requesting arrest warrants in connection with an apparent attack on a student riding a school bus.

The incident came to light through a video posted on social media sites, said department spokesman Cpl. Mark Hoffman.

The attack, which Hoffman called a “brutal assault” took place the afternoon of April 29 aboard the bus, operated by Parkway Academy Central, Hoffman said.

According to its website, the Parkway Academy is an alternative discipline school that provides individualized educational services for students unable to function in a standard school setting. Services include social and psychological services.

The investigation began as soon as police were made aware of the video, Hoffman said.

“We had received a message about the post, and began looking into it. We realized the school is in our jurisdiction and decided to launch an investigation.”

The video – which police will not post to their website – shows four students coming up from behind the victim and hitting him in the back of the head, Hoffman said.

“Then they pulled him down and began pummeling him,” he said. The footage lasts approximately 25 seconds, Hoffman said.

A Dover officer has gone to the school and identified several suspects as well as the person taking the video, Hoffman said. Police also have contacted the victim’s family.

Detectives will be interviewing the victim and, “we expect to start getting warrants for the suspect later today or tomorrow,” Hoffman estimated.

One of the suspects posted the video and the victim’s uncle spotted it on Facebook, Hoffman said.

Calls made to the school administration to gather additional information were not returned.

Parkway Academy Central is one of four schools operated by Providence of Delaware, of Wilmington, a subsidiary of Providence Service Corporation, which describes itself as “a human services organization” that, according to its website, provides “accessible, effective, high-quality, community-based mental health services, social support, and academic instruction as alternatives to traditional methods.”